Pentax k-x and Pentax k1000 (old camera) question

I know i probably put this in the wrong place but i couldn't find a better place for it so here's my question: OK so I was told that if I got the new k-x that I would be able to put ALL the old lenses on the new one. I have a older camera from Pentax called "k1000" and i asked some one about that and they said it would only work if I had "k mounts" so now I want to know what is a "k mount"?

I know i probably put this in the wrong place but i couldn't find a better place for it so here's my question: OK so I was told that if I got the new k-x that I would be able to put ALL the old lenses on the new one. I have a older camera from Pentax called "k1000" and i asked some one about that and they said it would only work if I had "k mounts" so now I want to know what is a "k mount"?

Oh yes indeedy !
Pentax honoured the K mount on your K1000.
pentax screw lenses too. the adapter is very nice.
very nice camera the K-x
let us know what you decide
Pete

OK so I was told that if I got the new k-x that I would be able to put ALL the old lenses on the new one.

Correct. Any Pentax K-mount lens can be used with any digital body (not just K-x). However, since lenses are fully manual there are some restrictions, but nothing major in my opinion. How to use manual old lenses has been described here or elsewhere many times.

Originally posted by huskies4ever

I have a older camera from Pentax called "k1000" and i asked some one about that and they said it would only work if I had "k mounts" so now I want to know what is a "k mount"?

K1000 accepts K-mount lenses as well as K-x and other digital bodies. You can mount your K1000 lenses on K-x. Digital bodies have auto focus extension, called KAF2.

As mentioned, your K1000 uses K-mount lenses too - all Pentax DSLR's have for the last several decades. But do be sure to read the sticky thread in the Beginner's forum on ho to use your older lenses on a modern DSLR. And if you have further basic questions like this about using your camera, that Beginner's forum is the better place to post them.

Correct. Any Pentax K-mount lens can be used with any digital body (not just K-x). However, since lenses are fully manual there are some restrictions, but nothing major in my opinion. How to use manual old lenses has been described here or elsewhere many times.

K1000 accepts K-mount lenses as well as K-x and other digital bodies. You can mount your K1000 lenses on K-x. Digital bodies have auto focus extension, called KAF2.

Just be sure your lenses are Pentax brand. I have a Sears lens I had for my K-1000. Tried it on my K-X and it got stuck there because of the Ricoh pin. Was not fun getting the thing off of there. (But there are forum threads that help a lot.) I don't believe Pentax lenses will do that, but other brands will. One of the reasons I got my K-X was to be able to use my k-1000 lenses.

It sometimes amazes me that people sometimes don't know one of Pentax's biggest selling points, The backward compatibility with the K mount. I guess it shouldn't but it does (this isn't a knock on the OP by any means). When I first chose Pentax, the K10d, I had never even held a Pentax camera but I knew that their dSLRs could use legacy lenses without adapters or modification (aside from the M42 and the dreaded Ricoh pin). I have a bag full of some very nice Olympus OM glass and that was my intention all along. That changed when I found out I'd have to adapt lenses with a rather expensive adapter to use them on an Olympus digital. In retrospect, it would have been less expensive to buy the adapter .

When I first chose Pentax, the K10d, I had never even held a Pentax camera but I knew that their dSLRs could use legacy lenses without adapters or modification (aside from the M42 and the dreaded Ricoh pin). I have a bag full of some very nice Olympus OM glass and that was my intention all along.

I use an OM-mount lens on my K20D, and hopefully will have more soon. How? With a simple mod: The OM bayonet fits into the K20's metal mount, but won't turn. (It fits AND turns a bit in my ZX-M's polycarbonate mount. Go figure.) I put the OM base into a PK macro mount so I could watch the action, and saw that the OM's bayonet flags didn't slide under the mount's corresponding bits. So I dremeled away just a little bit from the BOTTOM of the leading edges of the OM's flags. Don't shorten the flags, just taper them to a wedge-shape. As with all my lens surgery, the operation took place on the wooden railing of my back porch. If I get an OM body, I'll find out if the lens can still be used in its native habitat; I don't see why not.

I've wondered sometimes if it could be done but at this point, there's no need to modify any of my OM lenses. The FL is covered quite nicely by my Pentax lenses. I still use the OM cameras so it isn't a loss to have them. I have a Nikon 50 f1.4 I might try doing something with just for grins and giggles. It'll mount just enough to stay on but I haven't investigated it any further (I think I have mentioned this before)..

Just be sure your lenses are Pentax brand. I have a Sears lens I had for my K-1000. Tried it on my K-X and it got stuck there because of the Ricoh pin. Was not fun getting the thing off of there. (But there are forum threads that help a lot.) I don't believe Pentax lenses will do that, but other brands will.

Just to be clear - not *all* other brands. Not even "most". Just a small number do, really. So really, there's no need to avoid non-Pentax lenses in general; just those few with the "Ricoh pin". Google that phrase for all the info you ever needed to know about it.

I have a Nikon 50 f1.4 I might try doing something with just for grins and giggles. It'll mount just enough to stay on...

Depending on the mount details, the easy way to deal with it is: Check the aperture ring. If it has a rim all the way around the bottom, the lens can be force-fit into a PK mount -- maybe upside-down. And that's all, unless you're a better lens surgeon than I, and want to try removing the entirety of that rim.

If the rim is only partial, with an arc on one side and a nub on the other, those can be excised. Unscrew base. Pull aperture ring off. Use a Dremel Reinforced Cut-Off Wheel #426 to cut away that arc and nub. You want the bottom of the aperture ring to be smooth. Now blow the dust off, re-assemble, and fire away. I've successfully castrated, er I mean modified 3 lenses, and more will probably go under the knife soon.

Or if you tire of the 50/1.4, I can take it off your hands for a nominal fee.